Monthly Archives: March 2015

My good friend and fellow artist, Alex Cheparev took a character that I designed and brought it to life using Maya, a 3D modeling program. He’s been documenting and posting videos of the entire process on his youtube channel, Crashing Maya. If you have any interest in learning how to design in 3D I highly encourage you to check out his videos and subscribe to his channel. His tutorials will really help you appreciate how much work and attention to detail go into 3D modeling. Yessir, Alex is a true wizard using evil pacts to create artificial life!

So now that Alex’s work is done, it’s my turn to jump in. Very soon I will have a 3D printed model of Voodoo Ninja for my painting pleasure. The plan is to paint this little guy and record it for my Youtube Channel. Furthermore, you can buy this model at Shapeways! That’s right ladies and gents, you can be the proud owner of you very own Voodoo Ninja model. So that’s it for news folks. Click on those links and sink some time into videos. Cheers and happy viewing!

For quite some time now I’ve heard raving reviews about airbrushing. Being the stubborn ass that I am, I refused to jump on the bandwagon. However after much carful consideration (and an ever growing pile of models that needed to get done quickly) I decided to take the plunge. I figured the best place to start practicing would be terrain, namely my Underground Lasers Kickstarter terrain. Here’s some pics of what I’ve been working on along with some babble about my entry into the world of airbrushing.

Underground Lasers, BBQ Lizard Stand

Before I continue, I should mention that I’ve been working with Francisco, the owner of Underground Lasers, for some time on his latest Kickstarter project. You can view pictures here. Those models are really my first go at using an airbrush and I think my technique has improved a lot since then.

Underground Lasers, Shogun Burger Shack

Back then I was using low budget equipment and a loud-ass, smelly compressor. I bought it from a friend and it smelled like a moldy basement whenever I turned it on. A few months later, I purchased an entire set of Bagder Minitaire Airbrush Paint and a Badger Sotar 20/20 airbrush. Holy rusted metal Batman, what a difference!

Underground Lasers, Barricades

If you’re a frugal individual like myself, then you hate feeling uncertain about any investment, much less an expensive one. That being said, if you plan on getting into airbrushing, I recommend buying the most expensive machine you can afford. You’ll be better off for it. The set up I ended up with was $300 to $400 (USD) and I don’t regret it.

Underground Lasers, Containers

Also, do yourself a favor and don’t bother mixing your own paint. It’s extremely tedious, time consuming and frustrating. Purchase a set of legit airbrush paint in a few colors (black, gray, white and some primary colors are a good start). Most of all practice and experiment!